Peak Week – February 4, 2013

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February 3, 2013

Eats
So, this exists: the smoked saltdusted maple bacon chocolate
caramel with roasted almond and nougat bar. Made by BETA5 for Meat and Bread, this beauty is chewy and layered with complex flavours, and may just be the best chocolate bar ever. If you’ve never had anything made by BETA5 before, you’re missing out. Their location at 413 Industrial Ave. pumps out an array of sweet treats, including the Green Flash Brewing Co.’s Double Stout ganache filled chocolate, Salted Butter caramels, and layered Citrus Pannacotta in a jar.

Beats
The Peak and CJSF are holding a Student Media Night! Come to the Highland Pub on Thursday, Feb. 7 for beers and wings, as well as performances by The Oh Wells, MANCATO!, and Dead Soft. There will be drink specials, as well as giveaways, which may or may not include president Petter t-shirts and Canucks Tickets.

Theats
This coming Friday night is the weekly Midnight Cult Classics night at the Rio Theatre. These films include pre-show entertainment, and if you dress up in costume you get $1 off the $8 entry fee. This week The Rio Theatre and Black Dog Video present what they call “the best worst movie ever masterpiece” The Room. The film is synonymous with audiences rolling around in laughter, even though the inexperienced filmmaker/ actor Tommy Wiseau intended it to be serious. And if you need something to wash out that sour taste in your mouth afterwards, hang around for a showing of Moulin Rouge after.

Elites
The Audain Gallery is currently hosting About Academia: Muntadas, an investigation of the structures and functions of the university. Antoni Muntadas is our current Visual Artist in Residence, and his work with SFU will consist of engaging with students in the School for Contemporary Arts as well as developing a publication with the Audain gallery. The exhibition is comprised of three projections, the video installation being juxtaposed against scrolling textual components. Because the exhibit takes place in a gallery downtown in a university, it encourages viewers to analyze the context within which it is placed.

Treats
The Board of Trade has recently opened a second location in the heart of Gastown, at 206 Carrall St. The new location features an expanded inventory, with men’s and women’s apparel, as well as accessories and homewares. Handcrafted and painted ceramic bowls and spoons adorn the shelves, and canvas tote bags line the brick interior. When it comes to women’s clothing, expect drapey blouses in tie-dye and tribal-inspired prints. As for men’s, you’ll find t-shirts boasting “Dance Away” as well as button up denim shirts.

The statutory story: Family Day

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EIC

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February 3, 2013

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By Gary Lim

Hello? Heeellooo? Where is everyone? Did they get raptured? Did I miss the rapture? Since when is it a sin to drown a bag o— OH, right it’s Family Day.

Family Day, for the uninformed, is a statutory holiday that has been celebrated in the other provinces since as early as 1990. Officially inducted into the British Columbian calendar last year by the Liberal party after voting down a Conservative’s proposal for Minorities’ Acknowledgement Day.

To summarize: Family Day falls on the second Monday of February, this year the 11th, and that’s pretty much it. Definitely no Christmas or Thanksgiving, Family Day ranks somewhere in between Labour Day and Louis Riel Day, identifying with one of those holidays that could otherwise be called “Take the day off work” Day.

Anyways since it is the fi rst Family Day, the question remains how exactly are we supposed to celebrate it? Is there some sort of Family Day tree? Is this one of those holiday where it’s acceptable to set off a metric fuckton of fireworks? Well, in preparation for the first Family Day, and partially due to the fact The Peak isn’t publishing an issue for reading break.

Peak Humour is proud to present “how to celebrate Family Day.”

1. Eat an unreasonable amount of food

It works for Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and every family-related gathering of every ethnicity ever (that’s not racist). People everywhere just seem to correlate eating a Honey BooBoolean amount of food to a good time. In fact it’s my personal theory that when given the chance, people will ingest three dozen mincement tarts and only otherwise be held back by society’s choke chain and stern command of “No! Don’t you do that! No walkies!”

But while you’re gorging, remember that it’s not just a grotesque amount of food for you to cram into your gravy-lubricated gullet; it’s also food that you would never eat if it were at any other time of year. Congealed cranberry paste? Com’on man, what’s the matter with you? Congealed cranberry paste in the middle of October? Hot damn, I will slather that on everything that will enter by body. Everything.

2. Make up your own insane tradition

When you think about it, the original holiday traditions were probably thought up by crazy folks, and everyone just kind of went along with it. Because that’s what you do when a crazy person tells you to decorate a tree at knifepoint. You spray some fake snow, string up the lights and top it all off with a beautiful angel. All while grinning ear to ear and hoping he doesn’t realize that the lights are blinking SOS.

So who says you can’t celebrate Family Day by slicing golf balls off the side of a highway or mixing a bathtub full of bootleg gin? Just tidy it up with some carols or a cutesy mascot that you can have Chinese children cross-stitch onto a t-shirt, and you’ll have Hallmark executives clawing at your door.

3. Do something solely out of obligation

You know the best part of holidays? that warm feeling you when you’re colouring Easter eggs, or chugging green beer with your loved ones, and you take a moment to step back and just enjoy the moment? Yeah that’s pretty great.

But that’s not what I’m talking about. What I’m talking about is the holiday bullshit that no one wants to do, but everyone seemingly has to do out of obligation. You ever go Valentine’s Day shopping? I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.

How much am I supposed to spend? what if I find out he or she spent more than I did? Oh god, what if they find out. Wait, what size do they wear? Don’t they already have one of these? What do you mean chore coupons are a terrible gift? And suddenly you’re on the ground clutching a large heart-shaped box of chocolates, violently seizing.

So this Family Day, do something solely because you have to. Do your taxes. Delouse a cat. Just don’t enjoy yourself.

4. Spend some time with your family

I guess you could. I mean practically everything is closed for this stupid statutory holiday anyways.

Column: Leave John Furlong alone

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EIC

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February 3, 2013

5

We’re all innocent until proven guilty… or are we?

By Eric Onderwater

Recently, the explosive allegations concerning John Furlong, the former CEO of VANOC, surfaced again into the public spotlight. Laura Robinson, the journalist who first accused Mr. Furlong of physical abuse and intimidation in a September article published in The Georgia Straight, recently released new documents accusing Mr. Furlong of physically and sexually abusing his former spouses.

Robinson’s original article accused Mr. Furlong of omitting sections of his past when he published his recent biography. More, Robinson alleged that Mr. Furlong had been a teacher at a catholic school in Northern BC. While Mr. Furlong was a teacher, he was allegedly mean to some of the students, which the students labeled abuse in 2012.

I’ll start by saying that Robinson is the lowest form of journalistic sleaze we’ve seen in a long time. Why on earth would she suddenly feel the need to attack John Furlong? Even if the allegations are true, why destroy a man’s reputation? A brief Google search on Robinson brings up a number of interesting details.

Robinson is a prominent writer on women’s and aboriginal issues in Canada. She’s also written numerous books on various issues in sports, usually related to gender equity and women’s perspectives in sport. More interestingly, she’s written a number of critical articles on the Vancouver Olympic Games. She attacked VANOC over the refusal to allow women’s ski jumping. She then attacked VANOC over various issues like the environment, native inclusion etc. Finally, in one article she talks about how the money from the games should have been used for social programs instead.

Then she attacks John Furlong. She first attacks him in 2011 on the same website in which she attacks the Vancouver Olympics. She alleges that Mr. Furlong is a bad person. Why? Because he left his former students behind in Northern BC, and “did not seek them out on his many visits back.” But that wasn’t enough. She tracked down students from the school; convinced them to sign affidavits that Mr. Furlong was mean to them in gym class, and then published a story saying that John Furlong physically abused his former students. Finally, in the last pathetic installment, she alleged sexual and physical abuse of his former spouses in court documents, recently in January.

The entire story is built on one tiny piece of incriminating information. But after reading a bit about Robinson, I began to understand why she would write such a story. You see, Robinson has a basic bias against white men, organized religion, the Olympics and anything and anybody powerful in general. She also believes that women and Aboriginals are saintly creatures in need of every resource the government has to offer.

In this way of thinking, John Furlong is a natural target. It doesn’t really matter if the story is true. The very fact that he worked at a catholic school with aboriginal students apparently implies that he’s evil and unworthy to be CEO of VANOC.

It then becomes clear that Robinson didn’t write this article to make the world a better place, or to pursue some misguided version of journalistic truth. She wrote it to become famous. And Mr. Furlong is just the collateral damage on the way.

Clan fall short at home

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EIC

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February 3, 2013

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SFU conference struggles continue with two losses on home court

By Bryan Scott
Photos by Vaikunthe Banerjee

After winning their first conference game of the season, the Clan were back in action for a pair of home games last week. They hosted the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves and then the Seattle Pacific Falcons.

In their first game, the Clan came out firing on all cylinders. They built an early five-point lead in the first part of the half, leading 14–9 after a Dillon Hamilton three-point shot. The Seawolves battled back to tie the game at 18, only to have to Clan regain the lead with a 7–0 run. Unfortunately for SFU, that lead would dissolve over the next few minutes. The game was tied at 25 with just under eight minutes remaining in the half when the Clan ran out of steam. The Seawolves built up a 10-point lead by the end of the half, heading into the dressing room with a 44–34 advantage over the Clan.

As per usual the Clan were good off the bench in second half, outscoring the Seawolves 18–7. It was not enough, as the Clan fell further and further behind. They pushed the deficit to 22 points with 8:50 remaining in the game. They didn’t give up much ground after that, taking the game, 86–66.

Elijah Matthews led the Clan with 12 points and four rebounds in 31 minutes of playing time. Despite the loss, Matthews felt good about the fan turnout. “Playing at home gives us more confidence,” said Matthews. “We had a great crowd here tonight and we know our fans are behind us. If they keep supporting us, we won’t let them down,” he said after the game.

Their second game of the week was forgettable. The Falcons were too strong for the Clan. The game began with a 9–2 run by SPU, but the Clan managed
to pull it within two by the six minute mark. Over the next ten minutes of the game, SFU tried to regain footing but found themselves down by nine at halftime, 39–30.

SPU was better than the Clan when they came out of the locker room for the remainder of the game. The Clan were outscored 51–26 in the second half. They were beat in the paint and the Falcon’s players were better off the bench as well. In the end, the Clan lost their ninth conference game of the season, and fell to 6–12 on the season.

POINT: Valentine’s Day can Suck it

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EIC

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February 3, 2013

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Nothing can good can come of this plastic holiday and it should be avoided at all costs

By Ljudmila Petrovic
Photos by Mark Burnham

To see counter-point, click here!

There’s always a day in early January when I walk into London Drugs and lose my shit. That’s right, I’m still digesting gingerbread men, and there is already an aisle filled with heart-shaped items.

I’ll say it right off the bat: I hate Valentine’s Day. If I didn’t despise the holiday with such a burning passion, I would ignore it completely.

Before you peg me as a miserable singleton that drinks wine out of the bottle surrounded by cats, let me clear a few things up: 1) I don’t even own a cat, let alone many cats; 2) I am not miserable. In fact, I love everything about my life; and 3) I prefer my wine out of a box, thank you very much. I also do not hate love or the idea of relationships, or even the institution of marriage. In fact, deep down inside, I’m a hopeless romantic. I simply do not equate them with the fluffy, pink, tacky holiday that charades as a celebration of these things.

Assuming you follow the traditionally accepted process of courtship, come Valentine’s Day, you will probably find yourself in one of three positions: 1) in a devoted monogamous relationship; 2) single and arguably ready to mingle; or 3) somewhere in the middle (in Facebook lingo, “it’s complicated”.)

If you fall into the first group, that’s great. I’m happy for you. But why do you need a designated day to show your significant other how much they mean to you? Why aren’t you telling them every day instead of buying an overpriced, mass-produced Hallmark card on one day of the year?

If you fall in the third category, you’re better off just jetting off somewhere for the weekend, because if you don’t know where things stand, you’re going to get screwed on Valentine’s Day, and probably not in a good way. If you’re single, then this is the one time of year that even the most empowered and content individuals are bombarded with so many messages from Hershey’s that it’s difficult to not get bitter, and I don’t mean the chocolate.

Things get a little more complicated if this isn’t the way you do things. Poly? Get ready to cash in your life savings for presents. Fido the one who’s stolen your heart? Hallmark doesn’t make shit for your type, and I doubt Pinterest can help, either.

As a single woman on Valentine’s Day, I am told I only have two approaches to this day. I can sit at home in a bathrobe, eat chocolate I bought for myself (I even wrote a card. “Dear Me: You’re beautiful just the way you are. Love, Me”), while I cry and watch He’s Just Not That Into You and The Notebook back-to-back. This further pushes me into a masochistic spiral, until I have finished my box of wine and my box of chocolates, and am forced to walk-of-shame it to the Chevron on the corner, avoiding eye contact as I get a tub of Ben and Jerry’s (it’s Valentine’s Day, so I’m treating myself to the good stuff ). I don’t know about you, but waking up in a pool of melted Cookies and Cream (salted with tears of self-deprecation) doesn’t really appeal to me as an overall scenario.

The second approach I can take is the “empowered” approach, where I dress up with my girlfriends, blast some Beyonce, and head out for a night out on the town with my single ladies. Except it’s not just any night. It’s Valentine’s Day, which means that I’m just stepping into a tank full of piranhas that feed off of inferiority complexes and daddy issues.

No, thank you. This Valentine’s Day, I’m challenging this stereotype and going to bed early. After all, I have to wake up at dawn for my favorite holiday of the year: Feb. 15 — Chocolate Boxing Day.

POINT: Valentine's Day can Suck it

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Peak Web

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February 3, 2013

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Nothing good can come of this plastic holiday and it should be avoided at all costs